132 



MENDE 



MENDELSSOHN 



trade, the deposition of unworthy rulers, division 



of laUtiir. ins|>cclion of work hy'the go\ci cut, 



encouragement of markets, maiiiicn.iin of ^.od 

 road* and bridges, &<., condemnation of war, care 

 for the |HM>r and neglected, lint aUve all the pro- 

 motion of education the miininary of the whole 

 being that the welfare of DwpMpM should lc the 

 I consideration of the Mali-. There is also an 

 aristocratic element in his teaching. The highest 

 t\|>esoi iinliviiliial character are exhibited by the 

 scholar, the great man, the superior man or > 

 and the holy or ideal man ; their |>ersnal example 

 :ie best educator the |M*o|>le can have. 'Hie 

 fruiU of Mem-ins' teaching have always been 

 highly valued by his roimtrvmen from his own 

 time* to the present. 'The chief ilii-tn of modern 

 Chinese ethics and politics are mostly taken 

 literally from Mencius, or adhere closely to his 

 teaching.' 



See Legge, Lift and Wort* of .\ftneita ( 1875 ; 'Chincso 

 CWia- wriei); and Faber, Hind of Stenciu* (tng. 

 tram. 1881). 



Mrndr, capital nf the French department of 

 Lozcre, on the l,ot, in a valley surrounded by high 

 hills, Ui mill- N\V. of NinMt, has a cathedral, and 

 manufactures serges ami coarse cloths. Pop. 6740. 



Mendeans. Si*e MANH.ANS. 



Mrndolr^lT. DMITKI IVANOVITCH, chemist, 

 was born at TolMtlsk, 7th February ls:il, studied 

 at St Petersburg, and, after having taught at 

 Simferopol, <>di-ss:i, and St Petersburg, became 

 profesuMir of Chemistry in the university of St 

 Petersburg in 1806. He has enriched every section 

 of chemical -cj.-ncc, but is es|wially distinguished 

 for his contributions to physical chemistry anil 

 chemical philosophy. See ATOMIC THEORY; and 

 X tit are ( vol xl. 1889). 



>li ml< Iss.tlm. MOSES, philosopher, was Itorn 

 6th Sepienilier I7'-".I, at Dessau. From his father, 

 who-.e mime was Mendel, a Jewish schoolmaster 

 and scril>e. In- n-cciv.il his lirxt education ; ami in 

 In- thirteenth year he proceeded to Itcrlin, where, 

 amid very indigent circumstances, he contrived to 

 learn Latin ami modern languages, and to apply 

 him-elf to the study of philosophy, into which early 

 reading-, ehielly nf Maimonidcs' Moreh A'clmrhim, 

 bad initiated him already. After many years of 

 coni|irative (xiverty he DMUM the partner of a 

 rich nilk niaiiufactnrer. whose children he hod eda- 

 cated. The intimate friend of men like Lowing, 

 SuUer, Nirolai. he. diieetly and indirectly, con- 

 tribntixl in a vaHt degree to the alnilition of the 

 disgraceful laws and brutal prejudices against the 

 Jew*. On the ntlier hand, he actc.1 in the must 

 beneficial manlier on his own co-religionists, bv 

 rou-ing them from the mental apathy with which 

 they regarded in bin day nil that hail not a distinct 

 reference to religion, ami by waging lierce war 

 again 1 *! their IAMI religions ami other prejudices. 

 II died 4th January 17*41, and Kaniler wrote the 

 following epitaph mi him : Tine to the religion of 

 his for*-f!itlnT. wie an Socrates, teaching immor- 

 tality, and becoming iniinortal like SiM-ratet.' He 

 wan the pndolviM- of I^~iiig'ii fiuthan, anil was 

 calbil a ' M'cniid \I,,s<-4.' ||. .i_s a diligent student 

 of l^x-ke, Slmflcslimy, and |'O|M- : a tealoUB defender 

 of f>iiliglit4*nii| M.HI..I IM i-m. and, in spit*- nf l,i--.m^. 

 trongly ami Spino/i*.t. His priiicipal works arc a 

 volume on P.I|M- ax a philosopher, along with l.c 

 (17.Vi), on the S<-ii>.iiiiiiis i 17-''"' . on F.vjdeiice in 

 I7i>.'l I : I'll"' , a dialogue on 



the imiiiortiility of the -mil in the manner of Plato; 

 Jrnanlrm (17*3). a defenec of .Indaisin as a ie|i- 

 gion ; Moranutuntittt, ewavs in refutation of Pan 

 theium anil Kpitini. lli> oiks were editisl in 

 1846 ( 8 vol*. ), ami again in I two { 2 vola. ). Sec t be 

 Life by Kaywrling fid d. 18.* 7 ,. 



.H>nl>lssolin-Bnrllildy. FKI.IX, romp.. 



\va~ IMHII at Hamburg on Febiuary .'<, I.Mrt! Tho 

 family name was already remarkable by the fame 

 of bis grandfather, Moses Mendelssohn. Abraham, 

 tin- second son of Moses Mendelssohn, had entered 

 a banking business in Paris, but .siibsei|iiently, 

 on his marriage with I-ca Salomon in 1- 

 settled in Hamburg. The French occupation 

 in IM1 forced him to escape \\ith his family 

 to Itcrlin, where he founded the eminent firm of 

 (tankers known by his name. He iool\cd altout 

 this time to bring up his children ILS Protestant 

 Christians, and added the name of Itartholdy to 

 that of Mendelssohn in order to distinguish his 

 own from the Jewish branch of the family. 



The education he bestowed on Felix appears to 

 have been as libel al aa it was systematic. In his 

 eighth year we find the child studying composition 

 under 'Zelter and the pianoforte under Lud\\ig 

 Herger, besides receiving lessons in drawing and 

 the violin. Two years lat?r he made his first 

 public appearance, playing the pianoforte part in 

 a trio at a concert in Merlin. With 1S2<> began 

 that period of prolific production which lasted 

 almost till his death. At the same time he 

 entered upon a ceaseless round of gaiety and 

 activity which largely determined his character. 

 The home-life of the Mendelssohn family was 

 eminently suited to the musical tendencies of the 

 boy. A concert was given at the house on alter- 

 nate Sunday mornings, w hen some of Felix's com- 

 positions generally found a place in the programnie, 

 Within the next fa* years he formed the acquaint- 

 ance of such men as Goethe, Welter, and Moscbeles, 

 and hod composed his Symphony in C minor and 

 the I! minor Quartet. A short visit to Paris with 

 his father in March Is-J.'i did not impress him favour- 

 ably with the French musicians. 



"fhe following August saw the completion of his 

 opera, Cunoirlm's H'i'<ti/in</, which was destined to 

 lie the Iteginning of his uniileasaiit relations with 

 the Iterliners; anil his well known Octet for strings 

 was finished in October. With the composition of 

 the Mi-lsiiinmrr Xight's Dri-mn overture, in August 

 Iv.'ii, Mendelssohn may be said to have attained his 

 musical majoiity, ami iiis lessons with Xelter ceased. 

 On April 'M, IS'27, the opera f 'inii<-/u,'.i \Vnliliini 

 was produced in licrlin. Though received with 

 vehement applause it never reached a second per- 

 formance, owing, among other icasons, to the 

 illness of one of the principal singers, and the per- 

 sonal criticisms on the work in the press. Soon 

 after this Mendelssohn commenced the formation 

 of a small choir of sixteen urices. which met at bis 

 house for the pnrjHise of study ing liaeh's Passion 

 Music : and, in spite of the diilicullies of the work 

 and the determined opp<tsition of /clter, the scheme 

 culminated in the famous performance by the Sing- 

 nkademic on March 11, IH'Jll. the tirst since lioch s 

 death. For some reason, however, his success did 

 not. improve bis relations with Itcrlin musician-. 

 Accordingly, Iteing now twenty years old, lie 

 resolved to leave home and to visit the dill'erent 

 countries of Kurope. Kngland, afterwards the 

 land of his most pleasant associations, was his 

 first destination, lie arrived in London on April 

 !2I, ls-2!l. and was warmly welcomed by the Phil- 

 harmonic Society. He made his first appearance 

 at one of their concerts, when he conducted his 

 Symphony in C minor. A tour through Scotland 

 in the summer inspired him with the Hebrides 

 overture and the Scotch Symphony. 



Dining the next year he visited Munich and 

 Vienna. Ity October he had reached Venice, and 

 the following winter he sivent in Home. Returning 

 to Munich he proceeded thence to Paris, paying 

 hi- Kccond visit to London in April 1832. Ha 

 shortly afterward* returned to licrlin, having been 



